Hardware wise it seems very similar to an upgraded v1 Sansa E200. The SoC looks like an evolution of PortalPlayer with nVidia GoForce magic applied.c. nVidia purchased the PortalPlayer company prior to the release of the GoForce 6100 chip, so that would seem reasonable. Also- the same PortalPlayer provided/supported mi4 style firmwares are used, and the firmware even mentions "PP6110".

Firmware

mi4 firmware (two images). Decryptable with a recent mi4code. mi4 files signed with the same "dummy" DSA signature that the v1 Sansa E200 used are accepted by the View. In other words, the View's original firmware can be successfully modified and flashed.

Disk layout and hidden partition

UMS mode

Switch the hold switch to the hold position, and wait for the padlock icon to disappear.

Hold down the left side of the scroll wheel for a couple seconds, and while still holding, plug the USB cable in.

Keep holding until the player shows "Connected".

Another way to initiate UMS mode if your OS does not communicate to it via MTP is to just plug it in and wait a bit. The player will attempt to reset the MTP connection, and then when it realizes that is not helping, it will switch to UMS.

I attached the `lsusb -v` output of both the Sansa View in MTP and UMS mode. -- BlakeJohnson - 18 Feb 2008

Recovery Mode

Recovery mode looks similar to the Sansa E200. You can initiate recovery mode by doing the following steps:

Turn the Sansa View completely off. To turn completely off, hold the power button for about 5 seconds instead of a quick press.

Switch the hold switch to the hold position.

Hold down the 'Home' button, and while still holding, plug the USB cable in.

A partition named "16MB-FORMAT" comes up as a USB MSD.

Copy your firmware files to your device.

Eject the device (unplugging isn't enough).

It will reboot and you're all set.

Warning: Only move firmware files to the device when in recovery mode. Do not format the device while recovery mode. Do not interrupt file transfers while in recovery mode. Disobeying these warnings may or may not brick your player, but I'm not going to be the one to test them. However, I have recovered from several bad flashes using the above method.

Manufacturing Mode

Pre-boot or manufacturing mode is done exactly the same as recovery mode except hold the middle button instead of the 'Home' button when you plug the USB cable in. We may be able to do some fiddling with the e200tool while in this mode.